The book of life film study essay draft

5. The psychology of the ‘heart that is pure, courageous’, and confronting “what is most feared” is
thematically linked to the discovery of self. Agree or disagree with this claim. Be sure to discuss how
emotions are provoked and demonstrated in this film.

The film the book of life was a beautiful film that had many topics like romance, music, and trying to find
true self of which of the topic of finding true self is what I picked to do. The book of life was made by
Jorge R. Gutierrez and many other talented people who produced the book of life's story. In this movie,
there were a lot of bright colors, beautiful imagery, and many beautiful and nice songs that were spread
throughout the film of the book of life. The book of life told the story of two boys trying to fall in love
with a girl, but meanwhile there was a bet made by the gods of the land of the remember and the land
of the not remembered to see who would win to fall in love with the girl to see who wins to swap the
lands. Along the way in the movie, one of the boys named Manolo, is trying to find his true self, which is
also an unknown fear that he has that is inside himself. Manolo in the film cannot decide if he wants to
be a guitar player and singer which makes him happy or to be a bullfighter that his many generations of
family has done before him, and his living family makes happy.

In the movie, the book of life during the main story also told the story of Manolo trying to find his true
self and identity. Manolo in this film is grown up to become a bull fighter in a town in Mexico by his
father which also being a bullfighter makes his family proud of him. In the movie, Manolo has a true
passion for singing and playing his guitar that was given to him by Maria. Manolo cannot decide if he
could be a bullfighter that would make his family proud or become a singer and guitar player that makes
himself proud but not his family. In the movie the book of life, close to the middle of the story Manolo is
bull fighting and while fighting the bull, he decides not to kill the bull because he is not a bull fighter and
is a guitar player and he is not just about killing and hurting things. After this happens, his family is not
proud of him for not doing what many generations of his family had done before him. We know in the
story that Manolo has a real talent for playing and singing with his guitar, but he is ashamed that his
family disproves of what he wants to do in a way to find his identity and self. His guitar is what is helping
Manolo to help find himself as a person and his guitar is a symbol of him that of which is also been
written on his guitar which says, “Play from the heart.”

Manolo’s guitar in the movie the book of life is a powerful way to show his true self in the movie.
Manolo's guitar is in a way a metaphor for what his true self and identity is as a person. Without his
guitar, Manolo might have been a person that was never from the heart or as being not such a pure
person that he is in the movie. When Manolo gets gifted his guitar by Maria in the film, he knows later
after getting his new guitar to no matter what to aways be a pure person that plays from the heart and
that of which if being his true self. In this movie the book of life, the guitar in this film is in a way a
symbol of being pure and will aways be meaning to play from the heart. At the end of the movie, we see
in the film that the that town in Mexico is shown in the film is to be shaped in the shape of a guitar.
Seeing this in the film meant to me that not only Manolo will aways be pure and play from the heart, but
also the town is pure and is a meaningful place of the heart of Mexico. Manolo’s guitar was a
straightforward way to see what his pure self is, but for himself he still did not know what was of himself
and meaning so his true fear was trying to find his true self even if it was in front of his own eyes.

Confronting what is most feared of yourself is the way of finding yourself like it is for Manolo in the film
the book of life. Manolo in the movie the book of life was struggling to find his true self because he
wants to sing and play his guitar, but his family wants him to be a bull fighter like all his ancestors did
before him. It is nerve-racking to try to listen to what your family wants you to be, but in many words,
Manolo wants to go with what you want to be. When Manolo is bullfighting, he does not feel like him
being his true self and when he is playing and sings with his guitar, he finds himself being a purer person
than he is bullfighting. In the middle of the of the movie, Manolo is tasked to kill a giant bull that is made
up of dead forgotten people. Instead of killing the bull with a sword like many of generations of his
family would have done, Manolo decides to use his guitar to fight off the bull. In doing so instead of the
bull being harmed, the bull is sung away to where it was shedding its skin to find its true end of life. How
emotion is shown in the film the book of life, emotion is shown as being music and without using
emotion as it is for playing and singing guitar like Manolo, there is no way of being able to be a pure
person that is from the heart and finding true self.

The book of life had one of the main parts being trying to find his true self and being that is also
conquers finding true self for the character Manolo in the movie. The movie showed Manolo go through
finding his true self without even knowing. He falls in love with the girl named Maria but also
unknowingly finds his true self. Maria also played a big part in helping Manolo find his true self by giving
him his guitar that has the words “Always play from the heart love Maria.” Without the guitar that
Manolo got given to him by Maria and going through the journey of falling in love and finding his true
self, would not have made Manolo find his true self and identity in this film.

Gutiérrez, J., Toro, G. del, Booker, B., Berger, A. D., Schulze, C., Langdale, D., Luna, D., Saldana, Z., &
Tatum, C. (2014). The book of life. United States; 20th Century Fox.